Safety in the Beehive
by IcyMysticWarrior
Summary: After escaping New Orleans, the four survivors end up in the Beehive State, one of the few safe locations left in the west. There, they meet a young Utahn girl who tells them that the safe zone isn't as safe as it is thought to be.
1. Camp

"Whoo hoo!" Ellis bellowed as he watched the Tank below roar angrily down below. The helicopter lifted into the sky, moving away from the bridge which had been blown up and collapsed into the bay.

"I can't believe we made it!"

Rochelle smiled solemnly as she helped Nick sit on the wall of the chopper. "Amazing, huh?" She rolled up his pant leg, which was stained a fresh deep red. She sucked in her breath, pulling the last bit of bandages out of her med kit. A sudden lurch sent her sprawling onto Nick with a wince.

"Ouch.."

"Sorry," She said, pulling herself off.

As she cleaned Nick's wound, she thought out loud, "You know, I can't help but think that we're finally home free."

"I'll believe that when we see it." Nick said.

"Aw, c'mon, Nick. We're finally in a military whirly-bird, we're out of New Orleans, what else could happen? We're _safe_, man."

"I dunno. We've been safe about _twice_, Overalls. I won't say it until we're in the camp, entirely safe and never have to stare at the face of a gosh-freaking Tank ever again."

"Speaking of Tanks," Rochelle cut the bandage, "I never thought I'd see you do that for anyone."

Nick gave a smug grin, "You always said I could change a bit. There, are you happy?" He had shoved Rochelle and Coach out of the way when a Tank had been running towards them, ready to send them flying into the bay below. After shoving them away, the Tank had hit a car towards him, pinning him under it.

"Thanks, anyway." She leaned against a wall beside him, sighing relief. "I'm still glad to be on this chopper, at any rate. Hey Coach, got any thoughts? You've been awfully quiet."

Coach looked up, "Yeah. I've been thinkin', what are Carriers? I heard the soldiers talk about something like that when we picked up the radio."

Rochelle look up, "I remember reading something on the graffiti on the walls of safe rooms all over the city. I can't remember what they said, though.."

"If ya can't remember," Ellis leaned back, "Then it ain't important. Let's just forget about it for now."

Coach nodded, "Might as well. We can find out in the safe zone."

"Speaking of the safe zone, where is it?"

"I heard it was somewhere out west. Seems like the infection didn't spread there." Rochelle folded her legs under her as she adjusted to the bumps and creaks of the helicopter.

"Yet." Nick added.

"Looks like we're goin' cross-country! Man, I wish that Zoey was with us! We coulda had our weddin' right here!"

"Keep dreaming, overalls."

"So, since we're on a long flight, what should we do?" Coach asked.

Ellis came up with another idea. "Ya know, this reminds me of the time my buddy Kieth and I..."

"Ellis, I swear to God that if you don't shut up right now, I'll shoot you."

"No, Nick. I was just trying to say that when we first met, we made a game out of learning about each other. Then we guessed each others' names. Seems like a good idea since we're stuck here for a while."

"Actually, that's a great idea, Ellis." Rochelle glanced at Nick. "But we can just learn about each other, since we already have our names set."

Ellis grinned, "I'll go first. I had a beagle, favorite color's blue, I lived in Savannah, I worked at a car shop, I played bass in a band with a bunch of my friends, and I'm 23."

Rochelle sat up. "I'll go then. I had a cute little calico, I love orange, I lived in Cleveland, I was a "vice producer" in Channel 5 News. I totally wasn't, though. I was treated like an intern, though I finally got my break...when I met you guys." She laughed, "Some break, huh? Anyway, I'm 29."

"I've a large St. Bernard, purple or yellow, since they were my school's colors, I lived in Savannah, like Ellis, I was a school coach and the coach of the football team, and I'm 44."

Nick remained silent, leaning his head against the wall and his eyes were closed.

"Hey Nick, aren't you gonna share?"

Nick cracked open one eye. "No. Feeling the blood pool out of your leg is very tiring. And I want to get some sleep before something happens. Alright? I don't know about you guys, but good night." He closed his eyes again.

Coach chuckled. "Nick's right. We've haven't slept right in a few days. Let's get some sleep. 'Night, y'all." After a few minutes, however, Ellis did not fall asleep. Instead, he stood up and headed towards the front of the chopper, where the entrance to the pilot's area was.

"Hey," He tapped on the wall where a small slit could be seen. "Thanks for waiting for us, sir. We'd still be stuck in New Orleans without ya."

Suddenly, he heard a gun click and was staring down the barrel of a magnum pistol.

"Get back to the area and don't move. Please stay with your friends...sir." Came the voice of the pilot.

"A-Alright..." He wobbled back to the middle to the helicopter, sitting beside Coach. He though of waking him up but the deep sleep lines in his face made him stop. Instead, he kept it in the back of his mind to tell his team mates later. Settling into the rocks and creaks of the helicopter, he fell asleep.

–

"Ellis, sweetie, wake up."

"Huh?" Ellis opened his eyes. "What's up?"

"We've stopped moving." Nick supported himself on the wall of the helicopter. He looked out of the tiny window. "We're surrounded by fences. I don't like the look of this, you guys."

Suddenly, the sound of the back door of the helicopter opened, revealing several people dressed in what seemed like modified hazmat suits.

"Drop your weapons on the floor now." demanded one.

"What? What are we-" Nick was cut off by having an M16 pointed at his face. "Drop them on the floor. Now."

They slowly put their guns onto the floor, then unstrapped their grenades and objects onto the floor, but they kept their med kits as well as their adrenaline and pills.

"Those are not allowed in camp, sir." The man nearest to Ellis gestured to his adrenaline.

"Alright, alright." Ellis dropped it onto the floor.

"Stand in front of the wall, hands up." The survivors complied.

They felt their hands being pulled behind them and being restrained behind their back.

"Hey! What are your doing?"

"Safety concerns. You all have said that you've encountered the infected, right?"

"Of course we have! We've fought our way from freaking Savannah to New Orleans. Of freaking course we've encountered the infected!" Nick snapped.

Without a word, the men escorted the handcuffed survivors to a large building at the end of a long alley fenced in on either side. From where they were, they could see a few houses that seemed like apartment buildings.

"See?" Ellis whispered, "I told you, Nick. We're safe here."

"I bet a Hunter could easily jump over those walls."

The men behind them hit them with the butt of their guns. "Keep walking and be quiet."

After arriving inside of the building, they were led to a man who was wearing less than the soldiers.

"This is Dr. Serven. He'll be taking your tests and determining your camp."

"Um, yeah, one quick question before you go," Rochelle finally said as they took the handcuffs off, "Why are we being 'tested?'"

"To test for the Green Flu. Now, I need the men to go over there," Dr. Serven gestured to

a door to the right of them, "And I need the miss to go over there. Don't worry, a female doctor will take care of your tests."

Rochelle seemed to light up at the idea of a female doctor.

She went into the room while the men pondered over their situation.

"Well, this won't hurt, right?" Ellis asked, rubbing the sweat off of his head. "And besides, where are we?"

The doctor led them into the room, "Welcome to the Beehive State. The only safe haven in the midst of the infection."

The door closed behind them.


	2. Miri

**Blah, keep forgetting to write this in my fanfics lately. I don't own L4D2.**

**The awesome fairy named Valve does.**

–

"Ah, awesome, man. We're in Utah! You know, my buddy Dave said he's been here once, to snow board, said it was the prettiest-"

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt you, but we really need to start these tests." Dr. Severn picked up a syringe. "First off, we need to take blood tests."

After what seemed like hours, the survivors were finally let free from their seemingly ending testing. Despite the fact that they were confused to no end, they were actually quite relieved to be back together and safe.

"Alright," Dr. Serven tapped the clipboard with his pen, "Now all I need to know is your names." He started by pointing at Ellis.

"Oh, me? Ellis."

"I mean your _full name_, sir."

"Oh, right, sorry. Ellis Ladin." As he wrote down each name, he pointed at each survivor,

"Christopher Coleman."

"Rochelle Aytes."

"Nick Dillon."

"Nick or Nicolas?"

"Well, Nicolas."

"Alright then. All of you will be escorted by the soldiers to your camp, alright?"

"Do we have to be handcuffed again?" Ellis was answered by having his arms twisted behind his back and feeling his hands being restricted. "Guess so."

They were led out of the hospital building and towards the nicely painted condominiums when they were turned suddenly into a fenced off area, filled with dilapidated houses. The paint on the walls were chipping, the windows were broken, the doors squeaked loudly and the entire area seemed as if it were a ghost town on the dying grass.

"Um, is this...the camp?" Rochelle blinked. After seeing the nicely and brightly painted houses full of people, she could scarcely believe that this was the fate that awaited them.

"This is the Carrier camp. Until we find otherwise that you're not, you'll be staying here. The hazmat soldiers shoved them inside of the gates, unlocking them and shut the large fence gate, locking it.

"What? We went through h-...aw forget it. I knew we'd end up in some ghetto!" Nick pounded his fist against his knee. "Look around you, Ellis. Do you have anything positive to say about _this_?"

Ellis was quiet for a moment, looking downhearted before he manged out, "At least we're not outside either killing the zombies or being infected."

Rochelle put a hand to her forehead, "I remember some of the graffiti now! Most of them saidthat most of the people that were being shipped out were Carriers! I got it! Carriers are carriers of the Green Flu! They think we're carrying it! All of that graffiti were telling about Carriers. The people that were shot were Carriers..." She was silent for a moment, her eyes betraying fear and confusion. She continued in a small voice, "...If we're carriers, does that mean we infected that pilot back at the carnival? Does that mean Virgil will be infected? Or that we infected everyone on our way here. What about those guys on the bridge? Did we infect them...or are they some, too?" Soon, the depressing mood settled on everyone, leaving them to ponder about all of those that they had encountered.

Attempting to light up the mood, Coach spoke. "Well, we couldn't have been. They said that until otherwise, they'll assume it, right? It just means they're not sure. We're probably immune. They just need to finish the tests and then we're home free. We'll be able to go find our families and finally be normal again, okay? Don't worry about it too much, little sister."

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but quickly changed his mind. "Ro, it'll be fine. Let's just find our ways, okay?"

Rochelle managed a smile, "Well, you know, when Nick turns positive, you know something bad'll happen."

They laughed, trying to shake off the gloom of the revelation.

After a while, Ellis suddenly wondered out loud. "So, we're here. We're in a camp. You know, I think of y'all as a new family and I don't wanna be separated from you guys, but I wanna find my old family and friends. How're we gonna go about this?"

Coach considered it for a moment, "The boy has a point. How about this? We bunk up together, then we go out searching for our loved ones. Then if we so choose, we can stay where we are or just go with them. We're adults, we can take care of ourselves. Lord knows we can."

Rochelle smiled, "Not a bad idea, Coach. Let's go find a vacant house, since I doubt they're gonna set up house keeping for this camp, what with the way it is."

With a new goal in mind, the survivors set off towards the large mesh of houses, hoping to find a suitable place to live among weeks of chaos.

–

Whistling to himself after finally freeing himself from the residue of human bodies, Ellis strolled the camp. He didn't find it as depressing as it was when he first entered, finding peace in the few that lived there. They were mostly men, both young and old with a few women intermixed. There were a few children who played with makeshift toys around the camp, mostly ranging in their older childhood and young teens. Spotting a blur of color, Ellis ran towards the west fence. As he neared, he could see that it was a playground. _Why don't the kids play there?_ He wondered. As he reached it, he found out why. It was fenced off right in the middle, leaving the children on this side of the camp with only see-saw and a sandbox to play in. It was a depressing sight with the rust covering it. However, on the other side were children playing on slides and swings, laughing happily. Ellis envied those children. He wanted to have as few worries as a child. Sighing, he sat on the bench across from the playground, watching the children play.

"Depressing, isn't it?" Came a girl's voice.

"Huh?" Ellis turned to his right. There was a girl with black hair and wearing a tattered school uniform, sketching or perhaps writing something on a small notebook.

"I said it's depressing, isn't it?" She stopped and looked up at him, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She was a girl who looked to be fourteen or fifteen and was Asian, her dark eyes hinting at amusement.

"Oh. I guess so. I mean, why'd they fence it off like that? All them kids should be able to play."

"They don't want the Carriers and normals mixed and have some of them become infected." She said flatly. "I'm guessing you're the new person from the south. Heard you fought from Savannah to New Orleans."

"Yup. That's me...or at least, I'm one of 'em. How'd you know?"

"Word travels quickly in a small camp like this."

"Oh, I guess it would." Ellis fidgeted slightly, feeling uncomfortable with a girl who seemed to be as old as him mentally. "Um, I'm Ellis. You?"

"Miri." She said briskly, not looking up from her sketch.

"Miri," Ellis repeated, "Nice to meet ya. Nice name, too. You know, you seem a lot older than you look, how old are you?"

Miri slapped her book closed, "I'm fifteen. I don't know why you would say that to a girl, but whatever." She peered up to him through her glasses, a bit of a smirk forming on her face.

Once again, Ellis was awkwardly uncomfortable. "You know, I've kinda measured these walls and I'm just wondering, but, couldn't the zom-I mean, infected climb over them eas'ly?"

She scoffed, "Way too easily. When one of the friendlies get into any camp, it's the ones how know how to fight that get to dispose of them. After what happened in Savannah with the regular suits, they don't dare send even the soldiers out. That means you're gonna be part of the people who pull them down."

"Friendlies? Don't think I've heard of those zombies."

She smiled, "Friendlies is just an unofficial term the military uses after CEDA cleared. But the survivors call them whatever they want. Zombies, friendlies, infected, etc. It doesn't really matter since they're all the same."

"What about a special infected?"

"Special Infected?"

"You don't know what they are? There's something like a hooded guy who can jump, like, forty feet in the air, another one catches you with its tongue and-"

Miri waved her hand, "Oh, _those._ I just call them by the names they were given. I don't really generalize them with the term, 'special infected.' And when they come into the camp, it's the best fighters who go up and take it down. Good thing you guys are here. Last one took down three of our members."

"Which one was that?"

"I think it's called a Tank."

"Those bastards are hard to beat."

Miri smacked him with her sketch book. "Ow! Man, why're you whacking me for?"

She frowned, "Don't ever say things like that around me."

"What? Bastard?"

She smacked him again.

"Ow! Alright, I got it." He rubbed his arm. "Man, that thing hurt! But, y'know..."

"What?"

Ellis grinned, "I think you'd fit right in with my friends."

Suddenly, a crackle of static came from Miri. She touched her ear.

"What is it? ….Really? …..Freaking..ah, alright, I'll bring them. Send the kids and others inside and bring some of your own men. I'll bring the newbies. They need to learn the ropes around here. Alright. See you in five, Daniel."

Miri stood up. "Alright, I need to meet your friends. Take me to them and then follow me. I'll show you what we do with a 'special infected' around here."

"Whoa! Alright. Turing from a teenager to an adult in five seconds is creepy, just sayin'."

"Well, you've just met the leader of the west extermination team. We don't have much time before the infected find the normals. Lead the way, if you don't mind, Mister...Ellis."

Feeling a bit intimidated by her forcefulness, Ellis stood up and walked back to the team's residence, feeling as if he were going back to the beginning of this mess.

–

**So, what do you guys think so far? Bad? Good? So-so? Leave a review telling me what it is please!**


	3. Horde

**Still don't own Left 4 Dead. I would be the happiest girl alive if I did. I do own Miri and something else, though. That something else is what you'll find out later. Random rant: I'm not entirely used to writing in the present. It's really hard for me, so don't try to kill me over that. Oh and, yeah, I know, real imaginative, using their voice actors' last names. And don't get me started on Coach, m'kay? He seems like a Christopher to me, so shuddyap.**

**So, yes, this is a bit different from my other fanfics. I usually avoid cuss words entirely, but I want to try something(as well as the fact that it seems like barely any of the survivors' lines don't include at least one) and just see.**

* * *

Inside of their ramshackle house, Nick propped his legs on top of the wobbly dinner table, leaning back and folded his arms behind his head. They all had finally taken showers and, despite the cold water, they felt wonderfully clean for the first time in a few days.

"Get off," Rochelle pushed Nick's feet off of the table, wiping off the few dusty smears left behind. Although they were clean, their clothes weren't. The residue of bodies were still on them and gave a powerful smell. They couldn't wash their clothes until they found some to replace their old, blood-stained, torn ones.

Nick grunted as his feet landed on the floor with a _thud_. "Ow..."

"Sorry, but don't put your feet on the table."

"Coulda said so, sweetheart." She laughed and sat in the chair across from them.

"So, where's Coach? Or should I say Christopher?" Nick smirked.

"Over here." Coach came in, holding two bowls of what looked like a stew. "And y'all can still call me Coach if you prefer."

"Thanks, Coach," Rochelle murmured as she received her bowl. "This looks real good. What is it?"

"Some hamburger stew."

Nick smiled and picked up his spoon, "Guess it's time to dig in." He was promptly stopped by Coach.

"Now what do you think you're doing?"

"Eating. What does it look like?"

"Oh no you don't, boy. Not 'til we say grace and Ellis comes back."

"Speaking of which," Rochelle set down her spoon, "Where is he? He should've been back by now."

"He probably got distracted by some candy." Nick chuckled. Coach and Rochelle shot him a look of annoyance. "What? You don't remember that sewer?"

Realizing what he meant, Rochelle smiled, ", he probably found some old friends. Who knows? Maybe he's found Kieth."

Nick rolled his head back, "Oh please no..."

Rochelle laughed and rested her chin in her hand, "Oh, yeah, now that I remember; hey, Nick, alias or real name?"

"Huh? What do you- oh. I plead the fifth."

Rochelle barked a laugh before she saw Nick's serious face, "Really? And how many times have you used that one, suit?"

"Nothing you should be concerned with, Ro'."

With a quick knock, the front door opened, Ellis whistling happily as he stuck his hands into his back pockets. He stopped at the dinner table, and grinned. "Hey y'all. Sorry to keep you waitin'. I found a girl who's wantin' to talk with you guys."

"Found yourself a girlfriend already, Ellis? Finally got over Zoey?"

Ellis scoffed, "Aw, he-"

A thump and a muffled, "Ow!" from Ellis were heard.

"I-I mean, no. Anyway, This is Miri. She's from the camp and says she's the leader of some extraction team or somethin'."

She cleared her throat, "I'm sure you mean _extermination_, Ellis. Anyway, I'm Miri, it's nice to meet you all." She walked out from behind Ellis.

Rochelle leaned back in her chair, "It's great to see a younger face! Hey sweetie, I'm Rochelle." She nodded, suddenly shy.

"You can call me Coach if ya want." Coach stood up to shake her hand. Nick didn't attempt to move, or even seem to acknowledge her. Rochelle gave him a sharp kick under the table. "Nick.." She whispered

"Fine, fine, jeez. Name's Nick, kid. So, Ellis said you wanted to talk to us about something, what is it?"

Miri seemed to frown, she didn't like this man, but kept her mouth shut. "Yeah, um, as Ellis tried to say before, I'm the leader of the West Extermination team. I need you all to come with me right now. Sorry to interrupt your dinner, but we have to hurry before the Friendlies make their way into camp."

"Friendlies?"

"She means zombies, guys." Ellis crossed his arms.

Nick rolled his eyes, "For the love of...I knew this was too good to last." He stood up, "Well, let's go see what friendlies get in." He snickered, "It's probably not much since they sent a kid to us."

Without warning, Miri grabbed Nick's hand and twisted his arm behind his back.

"A-Ack! What the he-" Miri pushed his arm higher up.

"Uh, yeah, she doesn't like cussin'."

She finally let go, "Now, any more things you want to get out of your system, regarding 'the kid?' No?...Good, now let's go." She turned around and headed out the door, a frown still plastered on her face.

Nick rubbed his arm and raised an eyebrow at his comrades, "Not. A. Word." They snickered into their shoulders as they abandoned their dinner.

"I like her. She seems to put my point across." Coach chuckled.

"Yeah, but you fell into our routine." Nick glared. Coach pressed his mouth into a frown.

"This way to the stash." Miri said, pointing ahead to a shack-like building hidden behind the Carrier camp. The pathways were desolate from any human activity whatsoever, the quietness strangely disturbing.

"Where is everybody?" Coach looked around, seeing toys abandoned and left on the dry grass.

"Those who can't fight, are normals or are too young are sent inside." She continued walking, kicking the door open and turning on a light. "Help yourselves. Go easy on the friendly fire." Inside of the shack were a few guns and multiple melee weapons. Nick smiled and picked up an AK-47, grabbing two pistols before noticing a locked chest.

"What's inside of that?"

"Grenades. But we only use that on a Tank. Mostly because we can usually hear them before we see them."

Nick nodded and found a bin of pipe bombs. He strapped one to his belt.

"We can just use any of these?" Rochelle asked, picking up an M16

"If you can fire it, then you can use it." Miri picked up a hunting rifle.

"Are sure you can shoot that?" Coach asked.

She scoffed,"I've been using this ever since I left my house." They finally were stocked with their usual weapons.

"You know, I really feel like that we're back at that hotel." Rochelle shifted her gun in her hands, "I just thought that we'd finally be away from all of this mess."

"Well, I think that I'd be bored after a while if I didn't have anything to shoot." Ellis grinned, looking outside.

"Hey, it looks like we have company." A man who looked barely older than Ellis walked into the shack, a few men trailing behind him. "I'm assuming this is your group, Miri."

Miri nodded, "Hey Daniel. Just stocking up. Now, I have a quick question, what you said on the radio, what did you mean a mass of-"

"_**WAAAURRRRRRGHHHHHHH"**_

"Here they come!" Daniel turned to his small group of only three people. "You'll find out. Let's go!"

"Follow me!" Miri ran out of the shack, towards the gate of the camp.

Coach smiled, "You heard the girl. Let's go!" The survivors ran out of the shack, catching up to Miri.

"Should I help you guys or should I go to my usual position?"

"We've fought from Savannah to New Orleans. I think we're good." Rochelle gave a slight smile.

Miri nodded, "Right. Sorry, I forgot. Here, take these." She handed them ear pieces, "We'll be able to communicate if you have any questions. Now go!" The large horde could be seen running towards them, a large mob in front of the camp. Daniel, a boy with sandy blond hair and brown eyes kicked open the Carrier's gate door and rushed to the front of the camp. Miri closed it behind them, running towards a vacant watch tower. They took the ear pieces cautiously and put them in, running outside.

"Respond if you can hear me." Miri's voice was heard in the low static.

"Roger." Ellis shot the head off of a common infected.

"I hear ya." Coach swung a baseball bat.

"Heard ya, sweetie." Rochelle ducked out of an infected's reach and shot its leg.

"Gotcha." Nick started his chainsaw.

"Okay, good." A quick sound of a gunshot was heard, "You can talk to each other as well. It'll help if someone goes down."

Nick smirked, "Hey Ro, don't you think she's a little bit demanding?"

"I heard that, Coronel Sanders. Did I forget to mention that's we're all on the same frequency? Now shut up and go help Daniel. There's a Charger after him!"

"Why don't you help him?"

"Reloading."

Ellis whistled, running towards a cry, "She wouldn't do well in the south."

Miri scoffed, "I was born and raised in the west, and we're in a battle for life. Of freakin' course not." She looked through the scope to decapitate a few common infected. A Jockey scampered behind Rochelle.

"I hear a Jockey." She breathed.

"Behind you, uh...Rochelle!" Miri shot it, but it jumped.

"IT'S ON MY FACE!" Rochelle unsuccessfully tried to pry it off, but its claws seemed to prick her face. She heard the familiar sizzle of acid, indicating a Spitter was in the area.A man from Daniel's force punched it off her and shot it. It gave a tiny cry of pain and then crumpled.

"Thanks, mister."

"Anytime."

Coach killed the Spitter as it ran towards him. "They're thinning out." Suddenly, a high pitched shriek raised goosebumps. He suddenly swung around in a large arc, trying to pinpoint the location of the shriek. "Punk a-...er...There's a Hunter around here."

"Nice save." Miri chuckled. She looked through her scope and found a Hunter perching in a tree. She aimed and shot. Her gun clicked. She cursed and tried to reload quickly, but dropped the ammo. "Coach! Hunter in the tree at nine o'clock!" She heard a wail of a Hunter death and picked up her ammo. She stood up and aimed for another Hunter when a slick, wet thing slid across her neck. She screamed, "Smoker!"

Nick turned to see a Smoker trying to pull Miri out of her watch tower. He quickly aimed and shot. The Smoker exploded in a cloud of dust and he jumped out of the way of a Charger.

"Thanks, sir."

"Now you call me sir?"

"I am sorry about the Colonel Sanders comment, but we're kind of preoccupied if you haven't noticed."

Ellis pulled Daniel off of the ground and threw him a bottle of pills. "You'll need these."

"Thanks, man."

He ran off, leaving Ellis alone to head shot a Spitter. "Nailed it." He whistled as he reloaded, but finally heard something unsettling. A child's laugh. He looked around, not seeing any children outside of the camp or even in the gates. No one. He shrugged it off as his imagination and continued bashing infected away. As he turned, he saw a small girl in a yellow dress, giggling.

"Hey little one, y'all better haul yourself out of here! You'll get hurt!"

"Hey guys! There's a little kid here!" "What?"

"It's a little girl here!"

"That's impossible Everyone's inside!"

He ran over to pick her up when he noticed something. Her skin was light, a deathly white. She seemed to have smeared lipstick all over her mouth, but as he neared, he realized something.

It was blood.

"Ellis! Move away from it! That's a Biter!"

"A what?" Ellis noticed the little girl running towards him, her arms out as if she were pretending to be an airplane. She jumped onto his leg, thrashing around, laughing wildly. She tried to bite his leg, but he tried to pick up his leg and shake her off.

"HOLY- THIS THING AIN'T A KID! SHOOT IT!" It started to try and bite his leg, only removing a mouthful of cloth.

Rochelle shoved an infected back, looking at Ellis thrashing around, trying to shake a young girl who looked like a toddler off of his leg. "What is that thing?"

Coach's finger twitched on the trigger. _It's just an infected. It's just an infected._ He thought to himself. He still couldn't pull the trigger.

"I'm down!" Ellis finally tripped and fell over, the Biter running after a confused Rochelle, clamping onto her leg and biting off a large portion of her jeans.

"WHAT-? GET IT OFF!" It led her around, making her thrash wildly.

Nick bashed it off, bashing it into a tree and aimed, pulling the trigger. His aim faltered and he shot the tree next to them. It gave a loud shriek, like a child crying and ran off, its hands over its ears. He bit his lip but let it go, running back to the chaos. A gunshot echoed from the watch tower, he heard the bullet rush by him and turned around in time to see the Biter crumple onto the ground.

"Rest in peace." He heard Daniel mutter. The large horde had finally thinned to a few infected, easy to kill. Each of the survivors were sweating heavily, even panting. Even Miri had climbed down in the midst of the Biter episode. _So, she didn't shoot it._ He looked at the watch tower and saw a man from Daniel's force resting his head on the butt of his gun, his shoulders shaking. The unit finally cleared out the infected, leaving the eerie quiet behind.

The small unit limped back to camp, tired and sweaty, but pleased. Daniel led them to the medical building, helping a man named Conrad limp into it.

"Charger got him. We'll take care of this, you go back to camp." He gave a quick wave as he helped Conrad inside, his face deathly white.

"Poor guy, hope he gets better soon." Ellis said, absentmindedly rubbing his bandaged arm, where a Boomer had scratched him.

"He'll be fine." Miri walked forward, rubbing her neck. A long red circle with multiple claw marks circled her neck, a reminder to stay alert for anything everywhere.

"So...that...was new." Rochelle ran a hand over her face, "A new zombie that we didn't know about. But...you know, I thought the infection would've killed all of the little kids."

"It should've. It didn't. They were just driven on while the infection took over. They were pronounced legally dead. But, they weren't. They were declared brain dead. The Green Flu took over their brain somehow and reanimated them. They became a Biter."

"So, it's literally an ankle biter. Huh. I can't really say I'm surprised. I was wondering what happened to the kids." Nick scratched his head. "Better dead than sorry."

"I didn't see you shooting it." Coach said.

"How do you know that I wasn't reloading?"

"You never said. Should be habit by now." Nick couldn't think of a retort, so he bit his lip in response. Rochelle smiled.

"Well, look at that. Nick has a soft spot."

"Shut up." He muttered, turning towards their house, "I'm going back. Anyone care to join me scrape off blood again?"

Rochelle chuckled, "I think we're all going back. Oh, that's right." She turned to Miri, "Hey Miri, is there any place at all that we can get new clothes? These...well, you can see why." She gestured to her clothing. Her jeans were badly torn, her boots' heels barely staying on, her belt was barely staying on and her once new Depeche Mode shirt was now stained red and brown.

Miri looked sullen, "Sorry, there isn't."

The survivors seemed to be surprisingly annoyed, groaning. Miri smiled, "Just kidding. No, um, there's a place by the gate. It's a house full of clothing. Top floor, first bedroom is women's clothing. Have fun." She turned to go the opposite way.

"Hey, wait, Miri." Ellis put a hand on her head, momentarily forgetting that it was slightly covered in blood.

Miri cringed, "...What?"

"Just wonderin', but where're you goin'?"

"Same as you guys. Going back to my house to wash up and change." She imitated Ellis's southern drawl, a smirk on her face all the while. "See y'all later." She walked off, leaving Ellis with a small laugh.

"She does it better than you, Nick!" Usually it would insult him a tiny bit when people imitated him, but it seemed pretty realistic the way Miri did it.

Nick scoffed, "I don't think I'll take back that girlfriend label anytime soon."

"Wait what? Hold up, I'm not gonna-"

"Boys! Please! Just let's go home and shower, m'kay? I am sick and tired of this stuff on me."

Coach laughed, "Let's go before Ro' blows her head off." They headed home, and for the first time, they felt remotely safe.

* * *

**So...whaddya think? Sorry it's so crappy. I kind of got bored in the middle. What do you think of the Biter? Seems like something should've happened to the kids, right? Oh well. Oh and here's for those who don't know what to 'plead the fifth' means. It basically means that you swear on the United States' fifth amendment, which allows you to not answer a question if it incriminates you in any way.**

** See you later. Remember, R&R.**


	4. Autumn Days

**Sorry for the long wait. I didn't mean to be away for so long.**

**I don't own any of this.**

* * *

Miri hefted a backpack onto her shoulder as she rubbed her neck. The bruise of the Smoker was still aching despite it being inflicted longer than a few weeks prior. It was painful, but it was better than what usually happened. She pulled the turtleneck up higher so no one could see and walked out of her shack on the less than ideal side of the survivor's camp. The arrival of the new guys had lifted spirits, but not by much. They were directly sent to the "possibly infected or immune" shacks.

"You would think that they'd give the nicer places to us. Us being immune and all to the Green Flu," She complained to herself. "But no, give it to those who can't even get through the common cold." Miri shrugged, but it turned to a shiver as an autumn wind blew through her. The winter would slow the hordes that came on a regular basis in ice and snow. That is what she hoped, at least. The infected were practically dead and with Utah winters being as cold as they were, some of the walking corpses would possibly freeze at least. The worst of their problems would be to not freeze during the long winter months and to remember to warm their water before bathing.

She stopped in front of a shack and looked around. The trees scattered around the camp had turned to the cheery hues of red, gold and brown and littered the ground over the long dead grass. The wind carried a chill from the north. Miri hadn't a doubt that the group from the south needed warm clothing. They had only worn summer clothing. She pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose and ignored the rather unintelligent question that sprung to her mind, "Do they know what snow looks like?"

"An' ya know, guys, I'd really like ta go skiin'," Came the familiar southern drawl of her new friend. "I mean, Utah's said ta have the greatest snow on Earth. I've nevah been skiin', but I be' Miri could teach me or somethin'."

"Ellis, you're out of your mind." Came a woman's voice. Miri smiled at the voices before knocking on the faded brown door. "Rochelle's right, Ellis!" She called.

The door was soon opened by a large, older African-American man. "Hey there, sweet pea. Haven't seen you in a few days."

"Come here to see your boyfriend?" Nick taunted.

"Hey now." Ellis called.

"Don't get your hopes up, Colonel Sanders. You aren't my boyfriend." Miri shot back. Rochelle laughed and let her in.

"What're you doing around here? Not that we mind or anything, I mean."

"Just checking up on you guys." Miri walked into the house and set the backpack gingerly onto the creaky coffee table. "How're you guys doing in this weather? You know it'll be winter soon."

"Yeah. We're all a little chilly. We were gonna ask you where we could get some better clothes." Rochelle answered from the door.

"Well here you all go." Miri unzipped the backpack. "I guessed your sizes, so if I got it wrong, just tell me and we'll go get some."

The team pulled out various sweatshirts, jackets, coats, pants and other winter items. Rochelle grinned at the beautiful scarves hidden under the men's clothing. "You really outdid yourself, here, Mir. Guessed us completely right."

Miri smiled, "Did I? Heh. Guess fixing you guys up in between hordes really helped."

Ellis ruffled her hair and held up a jacket for Nick to see. "Don't ya want somethin'? We don' want ya ta freeze."

"No," Nick rolled his eyes, "I've been to colder places with a t-shirt."

"Come on, Nick," Coach took the jacket from Ellis and held it to the conman, "The girl went through all this trouble for us."

"I don't need anything."

"Nick-"

"No, it's fine," Miri smiled, "If he has a death wish, I might as well honor that."

Nick glared and held out his hand, "Give me the jacket."

"No, you said that you didn't want it."

"Give me the damn jacket."

"No. Or tell me the magic word."

"Abra-give-me-the-damn-jacket-dabra."

"Wrong magic word, jerk."

"Fine. Please give me the freaking jacket."

Miri grinned at him and threw the jacket. "There. You're welcome." Nick rolled his eyes and pulled it on.

"I think it's a little big, runt."

"It's okay if it's a little big. Have it too small and you'll suffocate."

"If it's too big, some infected might grab me."

"It's not that big."

"It is big, you little-" Their argument was cut short by Coach's laughter.

"Y'all sound like me and my-…" His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat.

"What is it, Coach?" Rochelle put a hand on the older man's shoulder.

"Nothin'." His voice cracked. "Just, rememberin' somethin'." The group stayed silent. Everyone had an inkling of what Coach was remembering from the tears in his eyes.

After a moment, Miri spoke up, "A-also, I, uh, I made too much food. Would you all mind joining me for dinner?"

Ellis leapt up from his seat, "Heck yeah! I was just startin' to get hungry anyway."

"Sure we won't be a bother, sweetie?" Rochelle asked.

"Not at all. Come on." Miri flashed a smile at the small group.

The dry grass crunched underfoot as they walked through the camp. Some other children were outside, but they seemed to only be kicking around stones. Other adults visited with friends. Nearly everyone in the Carriers' camp seemed to leisurely stroll around, but there was a shadow of fear on each brow. Even the youngest children in the camp seemed to carry it.

"Where did you say you lived again?" Rochelle asked.

"Just by that tree over there." Miri pointed to a shed. It had been painted a bright yellow, but it had faded and childish crayon scribbles covered the walls instead. "Home sweet home."

"You live in _there_?"

"It's cozy at least. Don't have much to worry about."

"I wouldn't think that they'd let a young woman live alone in a _shed_."

"A bishop from the local church invited me to live there. I would, but I'd feel like I was being a burden. You know, like I had too much blood in my hands to be in a church."

"'Blood on yer hands?'"

"The infected were people once, too."

"But why a bishop?"

"All the churches around here turned into orphanages. There's one on this side of the fence and one on the other. Heard it's kind of awkward for the Baptist, Catholic and whatever kids."

"Oh, they're those Mormon churches?"

"We're in Utah. What do you think?"

"Right."

"Don't you have any pare-" Miri looked at Ellis, who coughed in an attempt to cover up his mistake, "I-I mean, nice house."

"Do you think we can all fit in there?" Nick looked at the shed. "It's kind of really tiny. I'm surprised that you can fit in there, pipsqueak."

Miri glared and opened the door, "I've fit more than you'd think."

"But less than we'd hope, right?"

"Just come inside."

"There really should be a limit on how much you two insult each other." Rochelle chuckled.

Once the team was stuffed inside, they could easily see the few furnishings inside of the large shed. There was a mattress in the corner covered with a moth-eaten blanket and a heavily patched stuffed animal. There was a lamp on a plank of wood held up by cinderblocks on the floor in the middle of the shack. There were shelves made out cardboard boxes in the corner, sparsely filled with books and other tidbits. One picture was nailed to the wall with a stick. The boarded windows offered little light compared to the dim lamp. A small electric stove was set up in another corner, on which was a pot.

"It's not much, but it's all I have." Miri smiled. She pulled a few chipped and cracked dishes from a box and set them on the table. "Sorry, but you'll have to sit on the floor. Chairs take up too much room, y'know? But my mom always said that sitting like this reminded her of home. So I guess it's fine if you indulge this little girl's fantasy, right?" They nodded and sat near the table.

"Do you live here all by yourself, Miri?" She nodded as she spooned some stew into a bowl. "Sometimes, Conrad comes over when I can't stand being alone." Ellis choked a laugh, but was hit in the face with a towel. "It's not like that!"

"I dunno, Mir. The two of ya sound awfully close ta each otha." Ellis taunted as he threw the towel back.

"Yeah, just 'cause we're close- er.. well, it's not like that!" She slammed the last bowl of stew onto the table. "Just eat, Ellis." Ellis laughed at his victory.

"Then what is it like?" Nick taunted.

"Not you, too."

"No, I'm honestly curious. Please tell." Nick relished the chance to taunt the teenager.

"Look, he just helped me after my parents… left. B-besides! I'm just barely old enough to date!"

" 'Barely?' How old are you? Like fifteen? Shouldn't you at least have an 'ex-'?"

"I just turned sixteen, dipstick. I wasn't allowed to date 'til I was sixteen."

"It's the apocalypse. Who cares?"

"I still do."

Rochelle laughed, "You know, it's kind of funny, how you two are arguing about this. Maybe the world will go back to normal soon."

Miri smiled and waved her hand at her. "And it's pretty great that there haven't been many hordes lately. Or at least big ones."

"You know, I hope I ain't pryin', sweet pea, but I was wondering. What do you mean by your parents are 'gone?'" Coach had been staring at the picture on the wall. "'Cause you got a mother, father and a brother in that picture."

Miri's voice suddenly became monotone, "They turned. My brother's in the other camp. You know. The typical time-old story."

"Why only your brother? Why aren't you over there or why is he not over here?"

"He was at school when the evacs were set up. Took him there."

"Why weren't you in school?"

"I was…skipping class." Coach sent a disapproving glance at Miri but ruffled her hair. "It'll be fine in the end. Do you ever see 'im?"

"Only sometimes. When he's on the playground. You know, we have school here, too." She sighed. "Whatever. Let's just eat before this get cold."

They ate in silence until a knock came on the door.

"Miri," A male voice called, "Time for rounds. What are you doing?" Nick stood up before Miri could, and opened the door with a taunting smirk.

"Hey, ankle biter, your boyfriend's here!" Both Conrad and Miri flushed, to which Coach chuckled despite himself. Miri stumbled to the door and shoved Nick out of the way.

"Yeah, sorry, Conrad. I'll be out in a second after these guys finish dinner."

"Okay. I'll just.. uh, wait on the west fence. Meet me there." She shut the door and gave Nick a kick to his shins.

"OW! Dammit, Miri!"

"Serves you right." She glared at him and sat back down. "Sorry about that, guys."

"No, no, it's fine. We're all done. We can get home by ourselves, so go ahead. We'll clean up here." Coach smiled.

"No, I'll clean up. Don't worry about it."

"Go ahead. You have a duty." Coach picked up the plates before she could protest. "Go. We got it." Miri nodded, picked up her pack and gun and ran out the door. Coach chuckled. "She seems kind of lonely, huh?"

"Seems more like a brat to me." Nick rubbed his shin.

"Hey, you called for it, suit." Rochelle laughed. "You got anything to say Ellis? You've been awfully quiet."

"I was just thinkin'," Ellis had been staring at the photo on the wall, "Do ya think since she's lost 'er family that she comes to us as a replacement? Maybe if we got 'er brother o' somethin', she could be less lonely or whatever."

"That's the first smart thing to come out of your mouth since we've met." Nick smirked.

"No, serious. What if we got 'er brother fer her?"

"That's a bad idea, Ellis." Rochelle shook her head, "We'd be trespassing and if we're caught, we could be killed or turned back out. Or what if we're Carriers? Then we'd infect all those people trying to get one kid. And what if he's not a Carrier and we turn him? IT's a bad idea, Ellis. A very bad one."

"It's not like you ta turn up a possibility ta help someone." Ellis stood, "They're kids. I may be the youngest here, but I know what it feels like ta have yer family ripped from out from under ya. I want ta help her. How do we know that her brother ain't sittin' there, waitin' fer his sister and parents ta come get 'im. From the looks of that picture, he ain't that big. He's still a little kid."

"Say we got to him, then what? What if he'd rather be in the other camp? And besides, I don't think he'd know how to shoot a gun, and here, everyone takes turns shootin' down the infect. Even all the kids. Like ya said, he's a little kid." Coach put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "I know yer feelin' like ya need ta help the girl. I feel that way, too. But we can't go messing around with those things."

"Couldn't we at find some way fer them ta see each other? Like, get them to meet up?" Ellis sighed. "I just.. I dunno why, but I think that I just need ta get them ta see each other soon."

"It'll be fine, Ellis. Now let's clean up. An' Nick, stop hopping around like a pansy."

"She kicks like a horse." Nick glared.

* * *

"How're you feeling, Mir?" Conrad wrapped an arm around the younger girl in the chilly Autumn air.

"I've been better." She sighed, "But I just hope that this doesn't speed it up."

"That'll be a real problem." He sighed and rubbed her shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want to see them?"

"They think I'm dead. Let it stay that way."

"But your brother-"

"He's fine. Don't worry, Conrad. It's been a few weeks. I'll be fine. Maybe we all are really immune."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

**Hey everyone. Thanks for reading. Hope you didn't get bored waiting. I hope to see you all soon.**

**Review if you want. Stay tuned to see what happens next.**


	5. Winter's Breath

The dim winter sun shone on the shining, newly fallen snow. Winter had come and so had the season of repairs to the small refuge. After the first snow fall, the citizens of the Carrier camp had realized that the cold had slowed and perhaps stopped the weekly hordes, which left them with more leisure time than they were comfortable with. Since the chilly Utahn winters had stopped most of the growth for crops, food was scarce and bellies were empty. The Carriers needed something to occupy themselves with, so they settled on repairing the two campsites under the strict watch of armed officials. The normals were not allowed to participate because of the threat of infection from the Carriers. In fact, the normals were not allowed outside when the Carriers were working. Faces could be seen peering from the windows of the cheerily painted houses, eyes scanning the faces of the heavily bundled workers to see if loved ones were beyond the reinforced chain link fence. Disappointment and worry usually filled the expressions once more. Typically, the Carriers did the same, but relief and sorrow filled their faces once they saw their loved ones. On rare occasions, a brave normal would stride outside to see those they had lost, only to be barked at or shot by the armed militants.

One of the Carriers scanned the young faces in the small library that served as a school. He was looking for a young Asian boy that looked to be about ten. Unfortunately, most children fled from the large windows once they realized that the young Southern man's eyes were fixed on them. He sighed in frustration.

"What's wrong, Ellis?" Rochelle asked.

"I'm tryin' ta find the kid." Ellis pressed his face against the fence, as if it would help him see the small faces clearly.

"Goddammit, Ellis! We're trying to work here!" Nick punched the younger man's shin as the links came apart. "Besides, you're probably not going to find him! They keep the kids locked up tighter than Fort Knox."

"Doesn't mean I can't try." Ellis shot back.

"Ellis, we've been over this. I know that you wanna try and help Miri find her brother, but it just ain't gonna happen. See that?" Coach gestured to the school, "That's the closest you're going to get. Believe me, son, I want to help her find him, too, but we can't. We can't risk the safety of this place, especially during the winter. Do you know how to survive in the wilderness during the winter? Remember what happened to that couple? They tried to see each other. What happened to them? A bullet to their brains."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Coach. I got it." Ellis muttered as he tried to pull the links together.

Rochelle took off her glove and put it on the younger man's shoulder, "Ellis, sweetie, it's really nice of you to offer to help, but Miri seems like she's alright on her own. If we see 'im through the fence, we'll give him a holler."

"Dammit, Rochelle! I know!" Ellis brushed her hand off. He stiffened and looked up at her apologetically, "Sorry, Ro'. I'm just... I'm just angry. Why woul' they keep a girl like 'er away from the kid? Why keep a little kid from the only fam'ly he has?" The rest of the group's expressions softened as they realized Ellis' frustration. "I jus' don't understand why."

"Hey, just keep your head up, kid. We got work to do and the quicker we finish, the quicker you get to bore us with stories about Keith, alright?" Nick offered a tool to Ellis.

Ellis sniffled and wiped his eyes before accepting the tool with a forced smile, "Yeah, guess you're right. Hey, did I tell you guys about the time Keith and I almos' got our balls ripped out by a bunch 'a geese? Man.." Rochelle smiled and roughly ruffled the ex-con man's hair. He slapped her hand away with a smirk as Ellis' story droned on. After half an hour, a whistle was blown, signaling the end of the work day. The Carriers began to shuffle back when Nick looked up.

A young boy peered out of the school. He was small, had a round face, and looked remarkably similar to a certain young woman that he was acquainted with. Nick opened his mouth to tell Ellis, but shut it. If he told Ellis, the mechanic would most likely shout and make a scene, ending with him being shot in the head. No, he wouldn't tell Ellis. He would have to find a way to tell the younger man later. He bit his lip. Of course, _he_ could always just help the two himself. But if he did and was caught, they'd all end up killed. He contemplated whether or not to speak up, but ultimately resolved to remain quiet. It wasn't his problem anyway. What did it matter to him? It was Ellis who was obsessed with trying to help the ankle biter. Nick and the others arrived in the Carrier camp and went directly to their small house to peel off the layers of coats they waddled around in. The con man pushed the image of the little boy into the back of his mind.

After a small dinner of beans, hard bread, and a couple strips of beef jerky, Nick was made to fetch water from the main base to wash the dishes. He grumbled into his scarf as the cold nipped at his skin. He had been dragging the water pails back to the house when the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

There was the unmistakable sound of crying in that silent night.

"Shit!" He cursed quietly as he looked around. His first instinct was to grab the magnum he kept on his belt, despite being fully aware that a witch could not be killed with just a pistol. How he had wished that he asked someone to go with him! Nick put the pails down and slowly grabbed his magnum and held it up. He scanned the area to look for the familiar, scantily clad, disheveled, half-dead woman when he realized something.

The crying came from the playground.

He cursed again and began to walk towards the playground, his pistol raised. If there was anything, he'd run to the nearest house and demand help in disposing of the infected. He didn't much like asking for help, but he didn't much like being mauled to death by claws either. He approached the playground, only to see nothing. No Witch. Not even a person. He lowered his pistol in confusion. Had he misjudged the origin of the sound? Nick looked around and didn't see anything. He looked through the chain link fence and into the normals' camp. Had something sneaked its way into the defenseless camp? He strained to see something through the darkness when he heard a voice.

"Who's there? Sis, is that you?" It was a young child's voice. A boy's. Nick didn't respond. The last thing he wanted was trouble between him and the military personnel.

"Sis! Answer me!" The voice cried. "Miri... please." Nick froze at the name.

"Kid, I'm not Miri." Nick chided himself for speaking without thinking, "But I know where she is. Don't make any noise, 'kay? It's really late and we could end up killed, understand? Do you understand?" He waited until the little head seemed to nod, "Good. Now, see if you can come here tomorrow. I'll get your sister. Don't tell anyone, okay?" The little head nodded again. "Now go back home before we both get killed." The child's silhouette moved away from the fence slowly before breaking into a run. Nick stepped back to think about what he had promised. Did he just do what he told Ellis not to do? He sighed and tapped the barrel of the pistol against his forehead in frustration. Looks like he just promised the impossible, and despite his previous profession, he was a man of his word.

Hopefully, his word wouldn't get himself killed.


End file.
